The Feast of the Ascension. In our Lord's rising up to heaven we are reminded of humanity piercing into the divine; our hope and promise of salvation before us in the person of Jesus Christ. He went up so that the Holy Spirit may be brought down into our lives, making present the salvific action of Christ through the transformation of our earthly lives in the Sacraments.
How fortunate to have a Traditional Solemn High Mass today at the Birmingham Oratory, so that we could observe this feast 40 days after Easter, as the Gospel recalls. The Mass setting was the Little Organ Mass by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) which allowed us to fully focus our hearts and minds on the mysteries before us. Like the Epiphany, there was a special feature during the sung Gospel: the Paschal Candle was extinguished at the point Jesus ascends into Heaven in St. Mark's account.I think it was a wonderful Mass, and the benchmark for Liturgy (certainly in the western world). Since the Liturgy has been reformed, a low Mass seems to be the desired norm, with rituals built up around it. In the High Mass we are reminded of the full solemnity of the Sacrament. The Oratory does well to incorporate this solemnity into every Sunday's High Mass, whilst still using the Novus Ordo Missal. I believe this is because they use the Traditional High Mass as a benchmark; a hermeneutic of continuity is thus struck.
For a fuller account of a High Mass see my earlier photo-account from the feast of the Epiphany. This time Fr. Anton Guziel served as Subdeacon. Many thanks to the Oratory Fathers for another tremendous Feast. The next Solemn High Mass in the 1962 Rite will be for the Feast of Corpus Christi (Thursday 7th June at 8pm.)
Great post, Matt. Thank you for the pictures.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add my sincere thanks to the Oratory Fathers too. I was also present at the High Mass and the occasion served to remind me of just what was lost when the Novus Ordo was introduced.
ReplyDeleteFather Faber, the first Provost of the London Oratory, described the traditional High Mass as "The most beautiful thing this side of heaven,".
Having been privileged to attend this Ascension Day High Mass, my eyes were opened and now I fully understand firstly, what Fr. Faber meant and secondly, what, in the words of a hymn, mostly sung in Anglican churches, is meant by "O Worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness,".
David Kitto
I'm suprsied the Oratory fathers didn't have the relics out on the high altar, like they used to for special feast days.
ReplyDeleteI hope the B'ham fathers lead the way doe the rest of the diocese (and the country for that matter).
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ReplyDeleteI would also like to say a word of thanks to the good priests at the Oratory- a really beautiful building and a truely beautiful Mass. However could you have a word in their ears... some advance publicity would be very good. I caught sight of it by chance on your blog and travelled fifty miles each way,(people go farther for a shopping trip), and access is so very easy from the motorway and parking on site. It was very well worth it. But I did not even see a notice on the church notice board to announce it, and there was no mention whatsoever on the oratory website. There are more people keen on the old mass than we know, I think, but for a long while have kept this to themselves. But now, to borrow a phrase, we may be in for a new springtime in the church. As to those catholics to whom I mentioned it today several said " if I had known I would have come along to". I do think those interested and involved in the old rite keep it to themselves a bit too much. While the turn out was very encouraging last evening, (I was towards the front but would say 160/180?), and heartening to see such a mixture of ages, we need to let more people know. If masses like this are not " a success" it will be far more likely be because people don't know about them rather than that they don't care. Apologies for the rambling comment and for anonymous, I am having prpblems with my password.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, Edgbaston trumps Brompton -- sad to say!
ReplyDeleteThat photograph is soooo professional Matt..you have the whole altar...& i know i'm boring you!But those 2 little boys are so cute! lol
ReplyDeleteGreetings, I posted a comment earlier but it did not appear and as I'm having problems with blogger I'll just try again. Firstly I too wish to thank the good fathers at the oratory for a wonderful Mass and for keeping and obviously loving such a beautiful church. However could you gently suggest some more publicity, (if that's the right word). I only found out about the Mass by chance on your blog. There was no mention at all on the oratary's website and as far as I could see on Thrs. no notice at the church. I was happy to drive 50 miles each way, it's easy on the motorway and with easy parking. Those catholics to whom I mentioned it since have said," If only I had known I might have come along too", so instead of just me, and the dog for company, I could have brought a car full!!I get the impression that more people are interested in the Tridentine Mass than we think. There was a good attendence on Thrs., (180 or so), but if Masses like this are not a " success" it will not be for lack of interest but because people don't know. At one time I lived in Dublin and the only church with a sung Tridentine Mass every Sunday listed it in the main newspaper each weekend and the the church was always full.
ReplyDeleteI feel sooooo sad, I desperately wanted to get to an Ascenscion Mass on the Real day, and phoned up the Birmingham Oratory, and was told there would be no Tridentine rite Mass that day!!!!! I don't know who answered the phone and why I was given the wrong information; maybe it was because the good Lord wanted me to suffer some more by going to my parish Church and having the priest tell us all why the day was no longer being celebrated as the Ascenscion! I would much rather have driven for an hour to get to Birmingham, but must offer up this disappointment, yet again, for the restoration of the Mass of Ages.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth.
I must confess to being curious about what was in the comments you decided to remove ... perhaps they were genuinely offensive, in which case of course you were right to remove them, but then again perhaps they simply disagreed with you ... despite the enthusiasm of the handful of respondents here you will find that the majority of catholics in England, lay and clerical, while perhaps recognising the aesthetic beauty of the Tridentine Mass, are profoundly glad to have moved away from it ... I find it hard to see how the teachings of Our Lord can be reconciled with such an enormous amount of pomp and ceremony designed to enlarge the person of the Priest and diminish the laity to mere observers; how can we be edified by hearing the Word of God in a language we cannot understand? How can true religion be relegated for the laity to what is in effect a spectator sport? How can we be barred even from joining our voices with the Priest's for the Lord's Prayer? This cannot be what Christ intended. I am sorry that I disagree with you, but I hope that you will respect my different opinion, as I respect your different views.
ReplyDeleteanonymous: The comments removed were not too offensive - hence why there is still a trace of them. It was just me and my friend Andrew (Maddy's godfather) discussing the finer points of the Birmingham and London Oratories. I thought I'd spare the general readership this bravado!
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame Pope Benedict's views on a hermeneutic of continuity, and encouraging the use of an 'unedifying, unknown' language in the liturgy, are so at odds with your views, and supposedly the 'majority of catholics in England and Wales'. I'm glad you enjoy reading my musings despite this discrepancy.
Fair point about the comments you removed, and thank you for posting mine (with apologies for the anonymity - I have not "blogged" before ...)
ReplyDeleteI am not claiming that the Latin language, which is the at the heart of so much of western culture, both sacred and secular, is unedifying; merely that I believe the Word is intended to be heard by the people in a language that they can immediately understand. (Vatican 2 happened for a reason, it was not merely a "blip" ... come to that the Reformation happened for a reason, but that is another matter altogether)
Still, I am glad that you acknowledge that the Pope's views do not necessarily reflect those of the majority of catholics on every point...
Mary's daughter
ReplyDeleteContrary to popular thinking, the readings are done in Latin (in the old rite) because they done for the glory of God and not the edification of the people. That is why at low mass they are read on the altar and at high mass, the deacon and subdeacon are placed in special positions to annouce the readings - but they never face the people.
The four ends of mass defined in any catechism are: adoration, reparation, thanksgiving and supplication - none of these are about catechisis or about the people "hearing the word in their own language". Vatican II did not do away with Latin but actually mandated that it remain the official language of the Roman rite. You should familiarise yourself with Sacrosanctum Concilium
In response to Mary's daughter's original points,
ReplyDelete(i) "Pomp & ceremony" in the liturgy is not designed to enlarge the person of the priest, but to reflect the heavenly liturgy (cf Catechism 1090). This is not a specific feature of the Tridentine Mass; the external solemnity used at this Mass was very little different from the Novus Ordo at the Oratory. Of course, there are many people who prefer a quiet Low Mass (in either rite) & they are perfectly at liberty to exercise their preference, but it is High Mass which is the more ancient & definitive liturgical form. Many would argue that it is in an unruly celebration of the new rite that a priest is able to act arbitrarily to fulfil his own ego.
(ii) People do not need to pray vocally to participate in liturgy, which is in large measure a form of non verbal communication. My two year old son takes great delight in solemn liturgy, and makes us hold processions around the house singing hymns; he doesn't mind whether they are in Latin or English. I agree that it is more fitting for the people to understand the scripture readings, and that at most Masses they should be read in the vernacular; that is one reason why my own preference is for the new rite. In reality this was accepted long before Vatican II. Vernacular readings were permitted in countries where the bishops asked for it. In Britain, the readings at Mass were often repeated in the vernacular, and the use of Missals with translations was encouraged (Matt commented on the availability of such translations in his "invitation to the Mass). However, as Andrew pointed out, the scripture readings have a wider significance than just catehesis, and this tends to be forgotten once vernacular is used.
(iii) In the new rite, the Lord's prayer is part of the communion rite, and is recited by the congregation as well as the celebrant. In the old rite, the Lord's prayer is also seen as being part of the Eucharistic Prayer, and so is said at Mass by the celebrant alone. When the Lord's prayer occurred outside Mass (eg at the Good Friday afternoon liturgy) the people recited it with the priest. This may seem odd to someone who is accustomed only to the current arrangements, but it is perfectly logical, and has nothing to do with the relationship between clergy & laity.
(iv) We do not need to have individual views on what Christ intended, because we have His assurance that the Church teaches in His name. Many excellent Catholics prefer to go to a new rite Low Mass, but none of us has the right to say that the Church's liturgy is contrary to the will of Christ.